View source for Kerala: Assembly elections

=2021=
==LDF wins second time in a row==
[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2021%2F05%2F03&entity=Ar01300&sk=12D219F1&mode=text  May 3, 2021: ''The Times of India'']

[[File: Kerala Assembly elections, 2016 and 2021.jpg|Kerala Assembly elections, 2016 and 2021 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2021%2F05%2F03&entity=Ar01308&sk=1F36C7FB&mode=image  May 3, 2021: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]

After 44 Yrs, State Picks Repeat Over Reboot

Pinarayi Vijayan-Led LDF Wins 99 Seats In 140-Member Assembly, UDF Reduced to 41 (Cong 21), BJP Back To Zero

Thiruvananthapuram:

The ruling Left Democratic Front in Kerala won a historic second term in office, thanks to its level-headed and scrupulous management of the pandemic and CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s ability to withstand everything that a strident and combined Congress-BJP opposition threw at him. Vijayan’s no-nonsense attitude and ability to take risks earned him the sobriquet ‘captain’, though within his own party it led to some restiveness on what it possibly portended.

Although widely expected to return, the scale of LDF’s victory defied expectations --the front won 99 seats of the total 140, against 41 by the Congress-led United Democratic Front. The NDA, led by BJP, failed to gain any seats, and lost the sole Nemom seat it had in the previous assembly.

By focusing on his government’s track record of development and emphasising its secular credentials, Vijayan managed to neutralise the opposition’s persistent attack on him and his government in relation to various graft cases, ranging from gold smuggling, ‘backdoor government appointments’ and the alleged move to open up deep sea fishing for multinational companies. BJP tried to revive the contentious Sabarimala issue, and was ably seconded by Congress, but that too failed to make any dent. By deftly declaring that his government was willing to abide by whatever the Supreme Court decided, he preempted the opposition from cornering him on the issue.

Along with LDF’s increased tally, CPM too improved its share this time — from 63 seats in 2016 to 68, while CPI, the second largest constituent in LDF, won 17 seats, two less than in 2016. The loss of seats for allies CPI and JD(S) was in fact compensated by the entry of Kerala Congress(M). Vijayan himself acknowledged this at the post-results news conference, saying KC(M) has contributed significantly to the LDF’s emphatic victory.

UDF, on the other hand, dropped six seats from its tally last time. Congress could retain its 22 seats while IUML got only 14 seats, four less from 2016. The other constituents could together contribute only five seats to the front this time, against six won by KC (M) last time. In his initial reaction to the poll results, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said the UDF would continue to keep a tab on the government. “We always tried to expose the follies of the government and we will continue to do so,” he said.

More than the failure of the state leadership, the defeat is a severe setback for the AICC and particularly Rahul Gandhi who has been singlehandedly dictating things, right from the selection of candidates to campaigning. A bevy of AICC leaders had camped in the state for months to screen candidates and monitor campaigning. The party had believed in cashing on the anti-incumbency wave, and the majority and minority vote bank. But nothing worked in their favour as the people reposed their faith on Vijayan. It has to be believed Congress failed to read the writing on the wall.

== BJP draws a blank but no.2 in 8 seats==
[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2021%2F05%2F03&entity=Ar01302&sk=65F88F86&mode=text  Rajeev KR , May 3, 2021: ''The Times of India'']

BJP drew a blank in the Kerala assembly elections, failing to retain even Nemom, which party leaders often referred to as “BJP’s Gujarat in Kerala”. What could offer some solace is that the party finished second in 8 seats.


At Manjeswaram in Kasaragod, where party state president K Surendran put up a strong fight, it lost by a narrow margin of 745 votes to the Indian Union Muslim League candidate.

Apart from Manjeswaram, Surendran contested from Konni in Pathanamthitta. The leader who was also the face of BJP during the Sabarimala agitations was relegated to third position in the constituency where the temple is situated.

At Kazhakkoottam, where BJP’s Sobha Surendran raised the issue aggressively against sitting MLA and devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran, BJP finished second. The minister retained the seat by 23,497 votes.

However, the real jolt came from Nemom where BJP won for the first time in 2016. Nemom had emerged as a major arena even before campaigning had begun. In the tightly-contested fight, former CPM MLA from Nemom V Sivankutty defeated BJP’s Kummanam Rajasekharan by over 5,750 votes.

The last iota of hope was with ‘Metro Man’ E Sreedharan in Palakkad but the 88-year-old technocrat lost to sitting Congress MLA Shafi Parambil by 3,863 votes.


== Muslim, Christian voters turned to LDF==
[https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/shared/ShowArticle.aspx?doc=TOIDEL%2F2021%2F05%2F03&entity=Ar01312&sk=B8B341B4&mode=text  Rajeev KR & Jaikrishnan Nair, May 3, 2021: ''The Times of India'']


Ever since the cobbling together of United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala in 1970 in the lone Christian pocket in Muslim-majority Malappuram, the front has become the political platform for minority communities that amount to 45% of the electorate.

The political experiment helped shape UDF’s rainbow political base, bringing together the bulk of Muslims mostly concentrated in Malabar (26.6% as per 2011 census) and Christians based in central Kerala (18.4%) and aligning them with Congress’ traditional anti-Marxist vote base spread across various communities. This political experiment was key to Kerala’s four-decade-old alternating LDF and UDF regimes.
This time, LDF managed to make inroads into what UDF had considered as its electoral fixed deposits.

Among the 66 assembly constituencies where Muslim votes play a decisive role in determining the winner, LDF was able to win 45 seats. Even IUML took a beating with its tally coming down from 2016. Of the 21 seats won by UDF where Muslim votes are decisive, 20 are in Malabar; reflecting the Muslims vote consolidation behind LDF especially in central and south Kerala, where they had to choose between Congress and LDF.
LDF seems to have sensed minorities warming up to it and was enthusiastic in supporting the mass agitations against CAA/NRC. It put out full-page advertisements exclusively in Muslim-management run newspapers on April 6, polling day, proclaiming the front will not implement CAA/NRC and that there won’t be any detention camps in state.

Also LDF’s big win cannot be possible without the support of the church, especially in central Kerala. And this hasn’t happened overnight. The church was agitated for some time with UDF for the prominence it gave to IUML.

The speech made by Oommen Chandy’s son, regarding conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque in Turkey, did not go well with the church and its bishops. The stand of Jacobite Church made Chandy sweat though he won Puthuppally. Though Jacobite church leaders met BJP ahead of the elections, they went back to LDF at the last minute.

[[Category:India|K 
KERALA: ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS]]
[[Category:Pages with broken file links|KERALA: ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS]]
[[Category:Politics|K 
KERALA: ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS]]